**TL;DR: I did a whole ton of unnecessary searching through the sub for information on cleansers. This is post is what I found**
*Note: this post is not exhaustive or prescriptive, I’m not talking about exfoliation, for example*
**Contents**
* Introduction
* Double cleansing
* Oil / balm cleanser only
* OCM (oil cleansing method – non-emulsifying oil)
* Water / gel / foam cleanser only
* Milk / cream cleanser only
* Micellar water
* Cleansing toner
* Water rinse
* Low pH cleansers (and “case study”)
* Other considerations: water quality and air quality
* Bonus link: temporary pore appearance reduction
**Introduction**
Once again, like [the pH adjusting toners post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/HAIl8xt7UY) I made, many people are likely to know all of this already because it’s a deep dive into the sub’s history. But, of course, double cleansing, low pH cleansers and suchlike are common practices still.
Being on a bit of a pH bender recently, I was looking at low pH cleansers across the sub history and a friend suggested making it a bit wider. So I did.
When something is (largely) standard-ish practice and it seems self-evident, I think it’s really interesting to go over the details. You might not and, if so, you do not have to read this post!
If it’s a possible permeation, someone here has tried it. I found all sorts of stuff by searching the sub and I’ve included links.
And just for reference, not only are the links I’ve posted are not the only ones, they’re not necessarily the most representative, either. If something interests you, please search the sub, you may find a pot of gold at the end of your search rainbow 🌈💰
**Double cleansing**
“The premise is pretty simple. Like dissolves like. Oil cleansers are excellent at breaking down and loosening makeup, sunscreen, sebum, and whatever sort of goo has built up on your face over the day. Then you follow up with a surfactant cleanser to actually clean your skin, plus remove any of the now-dirty oil off your face.” [Link to Snow White and the Asian Pear blog post on cleansing part 1](http://www.snowwhiteandtheasianpear.com/2014/08/skincare-discovery-cleansing-part-i.html)
Makes sense!
I will link were posts by Snow White and the Asian Pear and I will henceforth refer to them as SW.
SW runs through the various cleansing options and the blog is well worth a read.
But double cleansing doesn’t work for everyone.
That being said, here’s some info from around the sub:
[What has double cleansing done for your skin](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/btWR19vIiX)
[Double cleansing twice a day](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/oxy1ZRizKK)
[Double oiling double cleanse](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/5KKvzgW0v9)
[Oil cleansing wasn’t life changing](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/m6aBVv3ogV)
[Popular first cleansers rundown 2015-17](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/JyTIeIJlcj)
[Team foam or no foam](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/DPUfsjeV6J)
[Cleansing sticks](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/nzs9HAptpV)
[Cleansing balm vs oil](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/zOp2nCeKmu)
**Oil cleanser only**
[3 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/Xxy9oLWFka)
[Also 3 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/A1i8FMaek0)
**OCM – oil cleansing method (non-emulsifying)**
[7 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/t1cop5gzGd)
From Lab Muffin:
Wong M. A Month Without Facewash. Lab Muffin Beauty Science. June 18, 2014. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://labmuffin.com/a-month-without-facewash/
**Water / gel / foam cleanser only**
[Turns out some are formulated to remove makeup up, 6 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/zecX3X62PB)
[Water cleanser only, 9 months ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/EI4Van2BmR)
**Milk cleanser only**
[Creamy milk cleanser, 7 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/aUshnSsuvf)
[Milk generally, 1 year ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/Px4PjgykTW)
[Kinda. Oil cleansers also mentioned, 3 months ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/comments/195syoe/hg_onestep_oilmilky_cleansers/)
**Micellar water**
[Micellar discussion and note the top comment: “triple cleansing”, 7 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/k4gQZrA2DY)
[Lots of people using micellar water as first cleanse on this thread, 9 months ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/M5saYvBBjl)
**Cleansing toner**
[4 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/QmsRVsl80R)
**Water rinse only**
[In the last few days, depending on when I post this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/JM4RbOIGfE)
**Let’s not forget:**
How you wash your face might matter: [as SW discusses](http://www.snowwhiteandtheasianpear.com/2014/08/skincare-discovery-cleansing-part-ii.html)
**Low pH cleansers (and “case study”)**
Note: this applies to water based cleansers but, when you go through the comments on the post linked below, oil is said to have a pH too. Wtf science!
[The research from SW](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/rt8a89UzQD)
The major questions considered here (research was presented in the post):
1. We know slightly acidic cleansers are supposedly better for the skin, but does it affect the efficacy of cleansing.
*Answer from the post: no*
2. Will using a high PH cleanser for a limited time even affect your skin/how long until the skin normalizes after a high PH state?
*Answer from the post: both short and long term negative effects, even if the effects aren’t immediate, they may be happening cumulatively.*
However, there are other factors to take into account:
A number of answers on [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/XfIE3JyaGr
) note that using pH as a way to determine if a cleanser will be stripping isn’t a reliable shortcut (I’m simplifying).
Imo, this is a banging answer on the effects of surfactants:
1) “For me, the conclusion from the research presented is that low pH cleansers are in general superior to high pH cleansers. Yes, a particular low pH harsh-surfactants-used cleanser would be probably worse than a mild-surfactants high pH one. But an ideal cleanser would be a low pH, mild surfactants cleanser.”
[Direct link to the comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/Wkkob9m44Z)
[This post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/iPEmcdK0lO) has a range of relative short answers that cover the general points of pros and cons of low pH cleanser (plus the fact that **formulation** matters)
“Case study”: Cosrx Low pH Good Morning Cleanser.
Like many Cosrx products, polarised opinions are the order of the day: both HG and WNRP / too stripping [7 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/b5FL3lu3Bj)
An alternative conception – some people may find it stripping as they may be using too much, use a tiny bit! [2 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/UZpCKu2xfb)
Ah, maybe it’s like shampoo with harsh surfactants then, concentration and amount used matters. [Science-y hair blog](http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-to-tame-strong-shampoo.html?m=1)
*Searching the routine megathreads: how many people have used the Cosrx Low pH Good Morning cleanser?*
As per the previous post, I got the numbers for how many routines were posted by searching for “skin profile” so I will have missed any that don’t include those words. And any deleted posts aren’t included.
To save my brain from exploding, I searched “good morning” and secondly “Cosrx low” (if the entry didn’t include “good morning”) and then listed the total number. You see, some people refer to this as Cosrx low pH cleanser and some people don’t put low pH.
Small sample sizes indicated by italics.
Jan 2024: 1:26: 4%
Oct 2023: 2:20: 10%
*June 2023: 0:6: 0%*
February 2023: 1:20: 5%
November 2022: 0:20: 0%
July 2022: 1:17, 6%
*March 2022: 1:14, 7%*
*December 2021: 1:15, 7%*
*August 2021: 0:8, 0%*
April 2021: 1:16, 6%
January 2021: 2:16, 13%
[gap]
October 2019: 5:40, 13%
July 2019: 16:40, 40%
April 2019: 2:33, 6%
January 2019: 10:36, 28%
November 2018: 4:48, 8%
August 2018: 11:53, 21%
May 2018. 18:73, 25%
February 2018: 12:61, 20%
January 2018: 17:104, 16%
October 2017: 14:62, 23%
July 2017: 20:62, 32%
April 2017: 31:163, 19%
January 2017: 29:142, 20%
October 2016: 16:92, 17%
July 2016: 26:116 22%
As I expected, a big decrease but it was super popular so I’m going to risk testing it out. I will follow up in a future post.
**Other considerations**
*Air quality and pollution*
[Cleansing is key, 6 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/HV5xJdSdvX)
*Water quality*
[Hard water vs soft water, 4 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/3IJq2uMpFo)
**Bonus link: Temporary reduction of pore appearance**
From [Fifty Shades of Snail’s blog](
https://fiftyshadesofsnail.com/2015/03/28/how-to-shrink-pores-temporarily-plus-3-pore-myths/)
[Amended method for the gritting of the face, btw there are other alternatives too](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/s/VJ7TmMTGgW)
Manymany
formatting edits
by Commercial_Poem_4623